Daniel Cormier sent a warning to Khamzat Chimaev following Sean Strickland’s win.
Strickland returned to the win column by beating Anthony Hernandez after spending over a year away from the Octagon.
The former middleweight champion was able to halt the longest active win streak in the division in impressive fashion by stopping ‘Fluffy’ in the third round.
Strickland’s callout of Khamzat Chimaev didn’t go unnoticed by the current titleholder at 185 pounds.
Daniel Cormier believes that if the same version of the controversial American who fought on Saturday night faces off with ‘Borz’, things might not go how many would expect them to.
- LATEST NEWS: Sean Strickland apologizes to Anthony Hernandez after upsetting his daughter before UFC Houston
Daniel Cormier warns Khamzat Chimaev that Sean Strickland looks back to his best
Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev have exchanged plenty of words in recent times, with references being made to the time they’ve spent training alongside one another.
Both men are such distinct personalities that the idea of the American being the champion’s first title challenger an attractive option for the UFC.
Of course, in order to put his name back into the mix, the former titleholder needed a big win and some were questioning whether Strickland’s career was on the decline.
Beating Anthony Hernandez would’ve answered those questions, but stopping him in the third round put them to bed for the time being.
Daniel Cormier disregarded Strickland’s two losses to Dricus du Plessis when saying that the former champion looked back to his best at UFC Houston, which makes a Chimaev matchup more interesting.
“Can Sean defend Khamzat to the point where he doesn’t get ridden out and taken down and controlled for 25 minutes? I don’t know that but I’ll tell you one thing that I do know. If that guy that showed up tonight shows up in that fight, it will be much more difficult a fight for the great Khamzat Chimaev,” Cormier said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“Why? Because even Israel Adesanya at the peak of his powers struggled with that version of Sean Strickland. The Dricus Du Plessis fight, it didn’t seem like Sean was locked all the way in. He seemed a little messed up and it showed… He didn’t look the same but tonight he looked the same. He looked like the guy that became a world champion.”
- LATEST NEWS: Debutant Josiah Harrell among three UFC Houston fighters transported to hospital after worrying loss
Gilbert Burns corrected Sean Strickland following his Khamzat Chimaev criticisms
In the post-fight press conference after UFC Houston, Sean Strickland spoke about Khamzat Chimaev being a bully and how he wouldn’t back down from him inside the Octagon.
We’ve seen other fighters go toe-to-toe with ‘Borz’ in the past and find success, which Strickland made reference to when highlighting one fight in particular.
“Look at Gilbert Burns, dude. Gilbert Burns f—— pulled his card, dude. Gilbert Burns is like 5’8 and almost f—– him up, did a god damn good job. Gilbert Burns is a savage.”
Burns responded by congratulating Strickland following his win via X, though he made sure to add, “But come on, I’m 5’10.”